


Pretend, Find, Conquer

by ilona



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Cannibalism, M/M, Mpreg
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-04
Updated: 2015-03-19
Packaged: 2018-03-05 10:20:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3116498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilona/pseuds/ilona
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Will Graham is not what everyone thinks he is. Will Hannibal Lecter meet his high expectations? - Rewrite</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Pretend, Find, Conquer-old](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1749536) by [ilona](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilona/pseuds/ilona). 



> Rewrite of my story under the same title.

  „Tell me your design, tell me who you are” Will said to the class, giving them something to think about, hoping they can put their thoughts on paper and that it would be acceptable for grading. He’s quite tired of reading the same dry formulas almost copied straight from some of the easy accessible and unfortunately, pretty lousy books on psychology.

He would know something about it, being the one teaching the future FBI agents how to profile criminals. Himself being one of the most efficient criminal profilers on FBI payroll a short time ago, but deemed too unstable to actually become a regular agent.  Not that they knew that he had manipulated that test on purpose.

  Will had smelt one of them, Jack Crawford, the head of BAU located at Quantico, heading towards the omega’s classroom at a rapid pace. _He’s not here for one of the trainees that’s sure_. While not the worst batch Will taught, _they weren’t the brightest either_.

While he was focusing on his thoughts the after mentioned alpha was quick to appear in his peripheral vision, standing near the doorway but not stepping closer. _He must’ve timed his entrance close to the end of my class_ , Will thought with mirth, _too bad we’re running a little late_. 

  He already guessed the reason for Crawford’s visit. _They haven’t really been acquainted, so it’s definitely not a social call, that leaves work. And the most recent case was a string of ‘abductions’ all over the country_. It attracted a lot of public attention considering the fact, that the abducted girls were young, pretty and of course no one knew if they were still alive, _except the killer and Will_ that is.

The omega ended the class and without further thought to Crawford, who was clearly seeking his attention and started putting his materials back into his bag.

“Mr.Graham” said Jack having already moved close to his desk. He saw some lingering students who wanted to talk to him about the assignment or were just curious about the agent,  but after a glare from Crawford they quickly fleed from his classroom. Will put his glasses on, they weren't prescription, but rather serving as a barrier form the outside world, mainly people.

  The alpha clearly didn’t like the inattention to his person and brought his body even closer to the teacher. “Special Agent Jack Crawford” he offered his hand in a handshake which Will reciprocated still not looking into the alpha's eyes.

 “We’ve met” Will said and started packing his bag at an even faster rate than before. His omega instincts telling him to flee from this alpha, but he couldn't without seeming suspicious _. I have to play the good little omega who can’t be seen fleeing from the ‘good’ alpha._

“I won’t beat around the bush, I’ve heard you can empathize with narcissists and sociopaths” the agent said, thinking he could convince Will to do something he doesn’t want to by releasing his alpha pheromones. _Unfortunately for him I can easily overthrow his pathetic biological ‘influence’._

“I can empathize with anybody, it’s less to do with a personality disorder than an active imagination” the omega said with bite, and tilted his head a little to slide his glasses down to block Jack’s searching eyes. He could feel Crawford’s amusement and saw the alpha's hand reaching out to his face. _No, no, no…don’t you dare!_ However his mental plight wnet unanswered as the alpha thought he had all the power in their ‘conversation’ and Will couldn't do anything but try to flinch away.

“May I?” he asked and without waiting for the answer pushed the glasses making the omega meet his eyes. _Oh, how I want to rip them from his stupid face._

“Can I borrow your imagination?”  _and here it is, I knew that he would come looking for me since I’ve heard about the first ‘kidnapped’ girl._

All very mall of America with their pale skin and long, dark hair. _Of course he comes, since his little protégé Miriam Lass disappeared he has to search for a new hound to track his killers._

   It is tempting to feel the rush from the kills without dirtying his own hands, _not that he doesn’t like to do the deed himself_ but lately he just feels like he lacks an audience, someone who will see the same beauty that he does. _A companion, a mate_ his mind whispers, but he hasn’t met one compatible enough, deserving enough. Because there is what to deserve, Will being what he is could be picky about his choice but there is a serious lack of alphas that can reach his high standards.

“Eight girls abducted from eight different campuses” Jack droned on “Eight? I thought there were seven” Will interrupted him. “There were.” He said pleased to hear the _fake_ shock in the profilers voice, not that he knew better.

“When did you tag the eight?” the omega asked pretending to be interested. _Please, if he took seven it was just a matter of time till he killed the eight. Oh yes he kills them and then eats them because he can’t kill his golden ticket yet, his daughter going away to college and leaving her cannibal daddy home alone, how sad._

  What everyone thinks is that every omega is compelled by his or her biology to be submissive, compassionate and kind to all, especially their own offspring. _That is not the case_ _._ At least with Will. He is different, always was.

 His parents were both betas and completely normal, at least his father. His mother left them when Will was about 3 years old and she never tried contacting them. In his thirty years on this earth he never met another like him.

More in control of his own instincts with considerably stronger sense of smell, which he sometimes abhorred. _Especially being in the range of Mrs. Marlowe perfume._ A little stronger and faster than average, having seemingly faster healing rate. Not that anyone knew, except his father.

  All this advantages and yet he wasn’t _content_. More in control, but still feeling the need. _The need to find a suitable mate_. He was considered an omega spinster already. The regular omegas take pride in being desirable and usually mate quickly, most commonly between ages 16 and 24. This made him less attractive to the alphas that were looking for a very young and easily submitable mate. Will looked younger than his actual age and was scarily often mistaken for one of his students, but that particular kind of alpha quickly backed off after learning his age.

 “About three minutes before I walked into your lecture hall” the alpha answered looking for a reaction. Not to disappoint Will put a look of shock on his face with a pinch of fear in it for good measure, _like I’d fear for the girl's life_.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is focusing a little on Will's background. He meets someone too;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your reviews and kudos:)

„For the last time Mr. Crawford, as you well know, I’m not an agent nor am I an active consultant for the FBI. I retired from the field to completely devote my time and abilities to teaching. I can look at the pictures from the crime scenes and offer the agency some insights, but you won’t talk me into field work. You have enough fully trained agents for that.” Will couldn’t believe the nerve of this man. He heard from Alana, that Crawford was difficult to deal with, but this exceeded even his wildest expectations. This man was trying to convince him to follow him from one crime scene to another and perform his ‘party trick’ whenever the agent wishes him to. Like a trained circus monkey, _ridiculous_.

“You forgot to mention your writing career” grumbled Crawford.

Ah, yes, his books. The standard monograph on determining time of death by insect activity published through the Georgetown University, thanks to a friend of Alana, was a success in a narrow circle of professionals. However the next two: “The norm – only not” and “Serial” were real hits with a wide group of readers, from psychology professors like Dr. Bloom to your average stay at home omega.

It’s a funny story, really, that it all began with a set up masterminded by Alana. She seeing Will’s unsuccessful attempts at finding a mate, came up with an idea to arrange him a date with her alpha colleague from Georgetown. The omega not at all aware of his friend’s plan, thought that he was going to a simple lunch with his beta friend. Imagine his surprise at finding her sitting at a table set for three with an unknown alpha. Unfortunately as he thought at that moment, but as it turned out fortunately now, she spotted him before he could make a ‘tactical’ retreat.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to meet a potentially compatible partner. He just doesn’t like to be set up.

In short as it turned out during their meeting, Damien, the alpha literature professor and him just didn’t feel romantically inclined towards each other. That didn’t prevent them from forming a sort of a companionship against evil ways of Alana Bloom, who managed to find an excuse to leave as soon as she introduced them. During the lunch they found out that they have a similar taste in literature and that they actually have read each other’s works. As it turned out Damien’s first papers were published through the university, but later, as his younger beta sister started to work as an editor for one of the major publishing companies, she convinced him to write something longer and for a wider public and let her publish it.

Her instinct was spot on. Damien’s books soon found their way on the bestsellers lists and he thanked God that he didn’t use his real name but an alias.

And Damien managed to convince Will, that he had a talent for writing too. His only observation was that Will shouldn’t edit his little sarcastic comments that weren’t present in his monograph but were evident and very charming, when he was telling Damien a story from one of his lectures. He said that readers will swarm to it as bees to honey.

After that he gave Will his sister’s business card and made a polite exit promising to stay in touch and hoping to be one of the first ones to read Will’s next work.

The omega didn’t believe him at first but after some persuasion from Alana, he began to write his first book, a simple comparison of what people thought was a normal behavior and what he observed in the many people he met in his life. He didn’t edit himself as Damien suggested and after giving it to the two Georgetown professors he knew and Mellissa, Damien’s sister and now his editor for proof reading and receiving only positive feedback, he published it under an assumed name with Mellissa’s publishing company.

It was an instant bestseller and he as well as the publisher made quite a profit since then. He doesn’t have to work as a teacher anymore, but doesn’t have a reason to quit either and with the rumor mill, he’s the first to know what’s going on in the FBI.

The second book aside from more fame and money brought some disgruntlement within the BAU, because of how he described the most notorious serial killers as ordinary people with extraordinary extracurricular activities and unusually strong desires. What didn’t sit well with the unit was his take on the agents and police officers who worked on cases like that and the influence it had on their psyche, especially cases of cop or agent turned killer.

“Still, there are people’s lives at stake here!” Will heard it for the third time already and still wasn’t going to change his decision.

“I’m sorry, but I know as well as you do, that it’s not good for me.” The omega said in his ‘resigned’ tone. “You have Heimlich at Harvard and Bloom at Georgetown. They do the same thing I do. If you want to ask my opinion as a lecturer at the academy then my door is open. Goodbye.”

He left quickly not waiting for a response. Crawford caught him after his last lecture and followed him right to the exit leading to the parking lot. The alpha finally realized he wasn’t going to get his way and fortunately didn’t follow him to his car.

To the agent it looked like a normal omega defense mechanism, backing out from aggressive confrontations, but that was what Will wanted it to look like.

Now he could walk to his car in peace. After his hugely successful first book, he celebrated by buying himself a new car. After a long search he found an ideal one. Taking Alana’s example, he bought an electric Tesla S, it’s not too flashy, extremely quiet and has a big trunk. As he mentioned before, ideal.

Pulling out of the parking lot he headed towards Baltimore, he had a few errands to take care of.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Will didn’t have any qualms about spending money. He wasn’t poor growing up, his father having a normal blue collar job, making enough to live comfortably with his son and make regular payments into the omega’s college fund. Now retired and living without worries in a luxurious house in Florida, complements of Will.

As a popular author he had invitations to many glamorous events, hosted by and for the crème de la crème of the society. He didn’t feel right in the designer shops, the shop assistants eating him with their eyes wasn’t pleasant. He felt dirty after leaving them and wanted something that didn’t left him feeling so exposed. That’s why after being published he found himself a tailor.

An older woman, but still sharp in her chosen trade, one of, if not the best in Baltimore and the surrounding area. Visiting her started to be a pleasure as the woman was great at what she did and at how she did it.

Now he’s just after the last fitting for his new suit, Eve, the tailor is in the back making the last corrections to his jacket as he lost a little weight in the abdominal area. That always happens about a month before his heat, just another quirk of his biology. He’s perusing the little shop for new materials, all of them wonderful to the touch and in beautiful shades. The omega was just trying to decide between two ties, when he heard the ring of the bell signaling entrance of probably another customer.

“Eve is in the back, she’ll be out in a couple of minutes.” He said absentmindedly, still trying to decide which tie will look better with his other suits, the silk one with checkers in different shades of blue or in different shades of grey.

“Dark blue.” Will hears an accented voice behind him and turns slightly towards the voice.

“Go with the blue.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you think?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your comments and kudos. I promise to read and reply to them all tommorow morning as for me it's now very late:(  
> Your support means the world to me.

“How did you…?” Will started to ask as he turned to see the man.

And what a man it was. An alpha of course, even without his scent, masked by the natural aroma of the shop, reaching Will, he couldn’t be anything else. Tall and broad, but not burly, ashen blonde hair and uniquely handsome face. 

“Excuse me, that was a little rude, but the blue tie would contrast beautifully with your complexion.” The alpha moved closer, not as if stalking a prey, but approaching a frightened animal. “My name is Hannibal Lecter.” He said extending his hand towards Will.

With the blonde closer, he could take a better look at his features. The omega’s eyes trailed from sculpted chin, through curious mouth, straight nose and high cheekbones, to a very exceptional pair of eyes, dark brown, but in the right light seeming almost burgundy. And the scent, it was simply _exquisite_.

“Will Graham.” He returned, taking the offered hand, still staring into the extraordinarily colored eyes, transfixed. Even more, when his hand was brought to the sensual mouth of the alpha and received a slight brush of lips against it. He heard, _felt on his hand_ the deep breath taken by the taller man, taking his scent in.

“Enchanted.” And he looked like he was. They both were. The magnetic pull unmistakable between them.

“I see you’ve met.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After Eve interrupted their little moment, they’ve actually jumped a little and Hannibal reluctantly let go of the omega’s soft hand. He berated himself for not paying better attention to his surroundings. But how could he, when a being like this was put into his path.

He encountered many beautiful omegas and betas, most of them thrown at him by their high society parents, looking for the best or should he dare say, the most influential match for their offspring. But this… this angel if they even exist was by far the loveliest person he’d ever seen.

This was what his uncle meant, when he said that Hannibal will know right away that he met his perfect mate. His father and uncle were lucky enough to find their counterpart quite young, well in comparison to Hannibal. He first started looking actively right after his 17th birthday, the day that he presented as alpha. Then newly accepted medical student was craving the same love that his parents had for each other and desperately looked for it. After ten years of unfruitful search he started to doubt in its existence.

Now, additional fourteen years later, he doesn’t have a shred of doubt about it.

He entered the store intending to pick up his order, as he did many times before, but this time he wasn’t the only customer. His tailor was pretty exclusive, fittings by appointment only and appointments by referral from current client, though there was the matter of gaining the approval of Eve herself. From the years he knew her, he saw the distinctive signs of her work on a very few people and only in the upper echelons of the society. She also didn’t take on clients from outside of the city, she joked about having far too many clients within to begin looking outside.

Following that train of thought would mean that sweet William was new to Baltimore or a rich recluse. Usually Hannibal would already make plans, how to manipulate the beautiful omega to his advantage, but in this case he could not bring himself to do it. The thought about hurting this creature brought him almost physical pain. But the lack of manipulation on his part in this case doesn’t mean not doing anything in his power to keep Will at his side… till the end of time.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Will was momentarily blindsided with the urge to mate with this still unknown alpha, he couldn’t even read anything from this man. It terrified him to a degree, that his body could betray him in this way and that it had even clouded his judgment for a moment.

 _It must’ve been the pheromones_ , he thought. It was extremely suspicious that he couldn’t observe anything more meaningful about the man before him, than the fact that he was rich, judging from the accent seemed to be foreign, from his build that he worked out. From his hands the fact that he is or at least used to be a surgeon, a musician or does or did something similar in the way that it required stable and well maintained hands. On one hand it intrigued him and on the other he was extremely frustrated, that he couldn’t know what he wanted, what he knew about so many uninteresting people without effort.

It leaves the usual way of getting to know the other person, but will he be truthful? Can Will trust him? His body screamed YES! But his mind, now thankfully free from the initial confusion, was hammering at him that Hannibal was fake, that what he saw was just a front for something else. Something the alpha didn’t want anyone to see and Will wasn’t sure he would be allowed to see it either. The only thing his body and mind agreed on was that he had to try to get to know Hannibal. What will follow depends solely on the alpha’s behavior as the omega won’t let go of the opportunity of courtship with his biologically most compatible mate just because he can’t read him.

“Hannibal, I have your order right here.” Said Eve waiting for the alpha to come up to the counter, which he did after reluctantly excusing himself from Will. He picked up a mid-sized package wrapped in brown paper and held together with white woven string with a small card on the end.

Hannibal thanked Eve and quickly spotting the omega, who moved to another section of the store, began to move in his direction. Will after deciding that yes, the blue tie suited him better, _not because of the alpha’s approval and complement about his complexion_ or so he convinced himself, turned to browse belts. With his heat next month he’s going to need some more.

The psychiatrist made way towards the omega, stopped right behind him to inhale more of the beautiful scent and waited to be acknowledged by him.

Will didn’t hear but smelled the approaching alpha. He felt the brush of breath across the back of his neck and the heat seeping into his body even if they were not touching. Lecter was definitely not honoring his personal space but Will didn’t have it in himself to deny the alpha, only because he felt _so good_.

The teacher eventually turned around and faced Hannibal, whose eyes hungrily devoured his face as one would a delicious meal after a long period of fasting.

“We just met and don’t know much about each other, so allow me to remedy that by inviting you to dinner. That is if you’re inclined?” Hannibal asked.

The writer didn’t have to think hard on an answer as he already made his decision minutes earlier, right after meeting the alpha for the first time. He didn’t want to seem to eager either, so he pretended to consider the proposal for a moment.

“I am. I will call you to set the date and time.” Will agreed at the same time compelling Hannibal to bestow the omega with his phone number.

The alpha seemed pleased with the affirmative answer, but slightly surprised with how the teacher took control of the invitation.

Finally, still not breaking the intense eye contact he reached into his interior breast pocket and pulled out a crisp card. He deliberately grazed it against the underside of his wrist, covering it in his scent and then presented it to Will.

“I’ll be waiting for your call.” Said Hannibal again taking the writers hand in his and kissing the back of it. With that he seemed to gather himself for a miniscule moment, which untrained eye would have missed, but Will didn’t, then almost delicately let go of the hand he still held in his own and made his way to the exit.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your comments an kudos and tell me what you think:)

Will Graham sat in his comfortable armchair in his new house on the outskirts of Baltimore. Unfortunately when he wanted to fix up his old farm house in Wolf Trap, there were complications. The contractors, hired by his dad when he visited Will this summer, found that the house cannot be renovated and has to be torn down because of damage to the internal structure, at least they wrote that reason in the official report.

The omega was devastated when he heard that news. This house was the first property that was in his name. What you have to know is that omegas are often treated like mindless trophies and some house owners don’t want to sell to people of that gender. The elder beta woman was the only one willing to sell her property to a younger omega Will some years ago.

After that he only hoped, that he will be able to find a house not so far from Quantico, but he knew it would be very hard. After a long search and a lot of refusals he found someone willing to sell a house to an omega. It was a desperate beta man in a lot of debt, only because of that and payment in cash did Will manage to snag this property.

It wasn’t perfect, it was on the outskirts of Baltimore, so the time it took him to travel to work increased and the décor was atrocious, but with some work and dedication Will managed to make himself a home.

When he lived in Wolf Trap he was often invited to various social gatherings held in Washington, he was after all a famous author, even if most of his readers didn’t knew his real identity. The invitations where passed to him by his editor who after his huge success doubled as his PR representative. Now he’ll receive invitations for the Baltimore area.

The omega liked finer things in life, but you wouldn’t call him decadent. He sometimes attended the functions, protected by the anonymity that his alias and lack of pictures of him anywhere allowed him.

Will very much liked the opera, the private balcony with very dim or almost nonexistent lighting, the great acoustics and masterful performances were very dear to him. There, shrouded in darkness he could be himself while somewhat in public setting.

What he didn’t like were the galas where one had to mingle. He attended exactly two of them. One out of curiosity and the other after much persuasion from Mellissa, that it couldn’t be as bad as the first one. And it wasn’t as bad, it was even worse. He mourned the dead brain cells that he felt he would never recover.

 _If I mate with Hannibal I’ll probably have to attend a lot more_ he thought. As he was new to Baltimore and Lecter looked and acted as someone from the upper echelons, Will decided to buy every local newspaper on his way back from Eve’s shop and browse the society section. He reasoned that even if the alpha wasn’t in any of them, he still could find some information about other members of Baltimore social circles. He’ll probably have to mingle with them at some point.

But he wasn’t disappointed, Hannibal was mentioned in the second newspaper he opened and in the last one there was even a picture of him with his acquaintances.

 _Dr.Hannibal Lecter_ , he was again right in his assumption, this time about this man’s profession. He could only imagine what those skilled hands could do to his body if they would give into the temptation or _was it just the compulsion of their biology_?

Will was suddenly brought from his wandering thoughts down to earth by a weight that appeared pressing down on his legs. He reached with his hand and scratched behind the ears of the animal. Winston was getting slow in his old age, but he still could catch him unaware.

He found him wandering on the side of the road a couple of days after he bought his first house. After searching for his owners and finding none Will kept him, he had a lot of room on his property and appreciated the company. Omegas where social creatures after all, no matter that this particular one had a better grasp on his instincts, he still felt loneliness. Will didn’t and still doesn’t consider people good companions, except his father, but that’s family. After all what he values the most is loyalty, not a blind one, but knowing you can trust that one person and not be betrayed.

His biology was compelling him to trust Hannibal, but trust as well as respect should be earned and not freely given. The omega decided to give the doctor a chance to do exactly that, gain his trust. And if he’ll waste it, well it just might be the last thing he does.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After feeding Winston the omega poured himself two fingers of his favorite whisky with vanilla undertones and started to mark the papers his class had to turn in yesterday. He wanted to be able to return them in time for his next class which was the next day before lunch. That turned his thoughts to what he did in lunchtime after his previous class. He had yet to call and actually set up the dinner date with Hannibal.

Finishing the marking, he put down the red sharpie and picked up the phone. Borrowing a little courage from his almost empty glass, he pulled out the crisp card with the alpha’s number on it, which he put into his desk drawer as soon as he got home. It was only partially because he knew that he would fiddle with this card so much that the writing would become unrecognizable and definitely it had nothing to do with the still faintly clinging smell, that would completely disappear if he didn’t.

He dialed the number and waited, his heart started beating faster and moisture appeared on his palms. He played it cool at the shop, but now in place he felt safe, he was actually nervous.

“Hannibal Lecter speaking.” He heard and quickly thinking on something to say, he replied “I didn’t change my mind.”

Hannibal must’ve recognized his voice and didn’t waste time in saying “Will, I’m very pleased you called. What date works for you?”

He recognized my voice right away, Will happily thought to himself as his omega part purred in delight. He didn’t have to contemplate long on an answer “Saturday about eight o’clock?”

“That would be perfect, I’ll text you the address. Don’t be late.” There was a hint of humor in the alphas’ voice and Will catching onto that finished in the same tone with “I won’t” and hung up. Not long after that he got the text with the address. He had some time to prepare as the next day was Friday.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

His class was uneventful besides a few complaints from arrogant alpha students about the grades they received on the written assignment. He quickly put them in their place, that being students while he was their teacher and not someone they can push around just because of him being an omega.

He somewhat expected the summon to Crawford’s office. Will knew that the alpha wouldn’t give up on acquiring his insight even if only in the capacity of a FBI trainer and not the deep analysis of taking the point of view of the killer, thinking and feeling the same things as she/he did when they committed the crime. And now there was something Will, according to Jack’s thinking, could focus on – the returned body of Elise Nichols.

What he didn’t expect was to find the recent object of most of his thoughts, standing in Jack Crawford’s office, facing the board and analyzing the portraits of the taken girls. There was no mistake that it was the same alpha Will met at Eve’s.

The omega was instantly suspicious. _What is he doing here? Was their initial meeting a set up? No, take a step back and think!_ Will thought in rapid succession. He wouldn’t ask him to dinner if that was a set up, it would void or put in very bad light all reports he filed concerning Will, because of their not yet started but heading there relationship. It would be extremely unethical and Kate Purnell definitely wouldn’t stand for it. _But Jack would_ , he was so obsessed with catching killers that he sometimes conveniently ‘forgot’ some rules.

 _Calm down! They don’t know anything and you’re jumping to conclusions. Jack isn’t that good of an actor…., but Hannibal is in a whole new category._ Will forced himself to step over the threshold.

 “I see you couldn’t wait to see me until our dinner” he joked. The doctor slowly turned around fully aware that the omega had been standing in the doorway. He allowed a true smile to bloom on his usually neutral mask and replied: “William, what a lovely surprise. I didn’t know I’ll be working with you, but now I’m more than happy I agreed to help the FBI.”

“I didn’t know I’ll be working with anybody besides Jack or other agents.” he didn’t mention that he didn’t know he would be working on this case at all, that would be a lie and for some reason he had the impression that Hannibal would know if he lied. You can’t bullshit a bullshitter after all and the alpha was a master in it. Even the head of the BAU didn’t see anything wrong with him and asked for his help.

Will knew there was something off about the alpha, he seemed almost too perfect, too put together. There was a barrier, a mask that separated the real Hannibal and this fake one he presented to the world. If the omega wasn’t looking so hard, wasn’t so interested in him, he would miss or at best take notice but dismiss it. But since his body deemed this person to be the best reproductive partner, Will will have to discover exactly what is behind that mask.

Judging from the attraction between them he thinks he can rule out pedophilia, necrophilia and other similar deviations. There are many possibilities left, but most are acceptable and can be even negotiated. Who was Will to throw rocks if Hannibal turned out to be a killer? He after all isn’t innocent and as long as he and their children would be safe, cared for and loved, he could care less about others.

The omega was now about eighty percent sure, that the alpha was a killer. The longer he thought about it, the more sense it made. The mask, his proficiency in medicine, now involvement with the FBI. It was a pattern already and if Hannibal would go further down that road he will be exposed. Exposed just because of his loneliness, because he didn’t have anyone who saw the real him and appreciated his work. He doesn’t know it yet, but it’s a path to self destruction, the omega saw it many times before.

He had to stop the doctor before it was too late and he exposed himself. He was brought out of his thoughts by Hannibal:

“I hope that me consulting on this case won’t influence our relationship in a bad way?” the alpha asked.

Will moved to stand closer to the doctor and standing close enough if by enough you mean almost touching, looked up into the eyes of the blond and gave his hand to the hand the alpha offered in greeting.

“I don’t think it’ll be a problem.” As was quickly becoming their custom his hand was brought to and brushed by the sinful lips of Hannibal.

“So, what do you think?” Will asked, motioning towards to the pictures, curious about the inner workings of Hannibal’s mind. Unfortunately before the alpha could voice his opinions they were interrupted by Jack who returned to his office with a new file, probably containing results of the autopsy of the returned girl.

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Hannibal knew he was brought in on this case for two reasons, first: he could help with the profile of the killer, and the second: profile and convince a reluctant ex-profiler turned lecturer to go back into profiling. His reasons for taking the job was finding out the inner workings of the FBI and after making contacts within, steering them away from pointing to him when the time came. What he didn’t know was that this lecturer was no other than Will Graham, his true mate.

After the initial surprise, he reasoned that he could still work on both profiles, but feed only one to Jack and resign from the other citing their budding relationship as a reason. At least he will be truthful in that aspect. He couldn’t afford to loose Will over something so trivial as a profile for the FBI. He wanted their future life to be build on solid foundations, for Will to find him interesting enough to want to get to know him, to fall for him. The alpha would resort to manipulation only as a last resort.

As of right now they were still sitting in Jack’s office, studying the file Crawford just got from the lab.

“Antler velvet is sometimes used as healing accelerant. It seems that he was trying to undo as much as he could given that he already killed her.” started Hannibal.  

“Yes, but why?” demanded Jack, impatient as always.

“Because there was something wrong with the meat.” said Will after fake staring at a wall for some time after reading the file. He had to keep up appearance, that he didn’t want to look and that he didn’t know that before.

“She had liver cancer.” added the Lithuanian after looking at some data.

“He’s eating them. He wants to consume one of them, but he can’t, so he’s going for the next best thing. He probably has a daughter, same age, same body build and coloring as the other girls.” finished the omega. He didn’t do that for the FBI, he did it for Hannibal, he wanted him to know that he actually understands killers. That he can understand him.


End file.
